I don’t know about you, but I hate carrying lots of stuff in my pockets when I play. I especially hate fumbling around trying to find a coin or distinguish between tees and the ball mark tool. Totally disrupts my concentration, fragile as it is.
This year I went so far as to try those ball markers that you clip on the bill of your cap. My PGA pro friend thought it looked a little too LPGA. While I remained secure in my masculinity, I gave up after losing a few of them.
Green Friendly Golf has come to the rescue with a belt that incorporates not only a ball marker, but also a tool that’s been specially designed to conform to the technique experts now recommend for fixing ball marks. Here’s the story on the belt and the technique…
The Idea
While attending the 1999 Ryder Cup in Brookline, Rick Schad, a designer by trade, noticed the fancy belts the players were sporting and then had one of those “aha” moments. Grabbing a Post-it note, he sketched a belt tip that incorporated a ball mark repair tool and ball marker.
Then began the hard part as he and his two partners, Akim Msumba and Stephen Walsh, formed a company, refined the design, found suppliers, and finally launched their product.
They did a good job. Today, Green Friendly Golf belts are carried by two of America’s most prestigious national retailers, are endorsed by Jeanne Cho and Pam Crikelair of The Big Break fame, and also have received the endorsement of the Professional Caddies Association.
And, interestingly enough, a Green Friendly Golf belt showed up on the waist of one J.B. Holmes in the cover story photo in the June 2006 issue of Golf Digest. Kevin Na was seen sporting one at this year’s Korean Open.
The Belts
The men’s belts are beautiful full grain leather, double stitched, with an embossed “croc” pattern. They come in either black or cognac. I think they’re pretty classy looking with the silver buckle and all. Sizes range from 32″ to 44″ in two-inch increments.
Quality leather and rich nickel plated hardware make for a classy look.
As one might expect, the ladies’ line is a lot more colorful. Actually, one of these belts might be just the ticket for fashion conscious males who want to make more of a Camillo Villegas-like sartorial statement.
The only tricky part of that is that the sizing is a little different. Perish the thought a woman should have to acknowledge her actual waist size in inches. So the sizing runs this way: small (28″-30″), medium (31″-33″), large (34″-36″), and x-large (37″-38″).
Trust me, if your waist is any bigger than that, you don’t want to be wearing a pink belt anyway. A man’s got to know his limitations.
Smooth leather instead of croc-embossed, the ladies’ belts come in hues to make even Ian Poulter drool.
One other note on sizing: Green Friendly Golf recommends you use a belt one size up from your actual waist size. Thus, a 36″ inch waist needs a 38″ belt.
The Tool
As the picture below shows, the tool slides out from the tip of the belt. On the backside is a notch to hold the magnetized ball marker. The tool and belt buckle are all nickel plated to prevent rust.
According to Schad, a key objective in the design was to come up with a ball mark repair tool that did the job the way it’s supposed to be done.
The result is a tool with relatively short, slim tines to prevent going too deep and damaging the roots. The small handle discourages prying up the turf, a definite no-no according to, among others, the USGA, the PGA Tour, and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
What I didn’t know until our omniscient editor, Erik, pointed it out to me is that prying up the mark tears the roots and kills the grass. Instead, what you’re supposed to do is insert the tool outside the mark and then twist the sod toward the center of the mark. Do that all around the ball mark until the gap is closed and then tamp the mark down with your putter.
You know you’ve done the job correctly when you would putt over it without qualm.
It’s actually easier to do than it is to imagine. Much fuller explanations can be found on the GCSAA site right here or the Green Friendly instructions here. Erik’s home course superintendent even has an online guide to ball mark repair.
In the End…
If you’ve read this far, you’re either into clothes or agronomy. Either way, I salute you. Looking good is equally important with keeping the putting surfaces on your course in pristine condition.
You can find Green Friendly Golf belts at select Brooks Brothers and Nordstrom stores or you can purchase them from online sources you can find here.
While I have yet to try one out, I can only imagine reaching to my waist and whipping out the divot tool like some riverboat gambler drawing a derringer. Take that, you dratted ball mark! And, all the while, my pants didn’t fall down. Very cool.
I am impressed, a secure male quip and a Dirty Harry reference in the same article. I received one of these belts for fathers day. It works well, the only problem is I promptly gained 20 pounds and need the next size up now.
$80.00 for a belt? What is it they say about a fool and his money? If gimmicky crap turns you on, have fun with your ball retreiver, chipper club, and your brush tees.
b.
I agree that to the unwashed the price is a bit, how shall we say, breathtaking?. But consider that the retail price of a nice Polo belt is upwards of $90 and the J. Lindeberg belts that Camillo and his ilk are sporting run between $88 and $120 or so… well, cost is relative.
Now for those of you who, like me, get their duds at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, we may scoff at such prices. But the truth is, cool comes at a price. See “Apple.”
Someone gave me one of those hat clips with a ball marker on it. I wear but still can’t remember it’s there. My habit of 1 marker, 1 tee and a repair tool in my right pocket will never change – it’s routine and an $80 belt won’t change it.
AND BY THE WAY — I always wondered why putting Scotty Cameron made those silver, titanium and gold repair tools with the little fulcrum beneath them that are designed to ripp grass roots from the soil … didn’t anyone ever taech him how to fix a ball mark?
Funny, I took Rick’s post it note and paid lots of $$ to have it brought to life in 1999. Rick and I introduced the belt at The Hootie and The Blowfish Monday After The Masters Golf Tournament. The belt was sold in Neiman Marcus by Back 9 in 2000. Rick must have had memory loss. I hope he comes out of it soon!
Where can I get the magnetic ball markers for the belt as I lost 2 of them?